Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Tales of an Unpublished Author: Slow Going

Then the monster of the unknown territory roars a maniacal
laugh and slams its foot on page 172 of your mss.

And your story grinds to a halt. Good bye, productivity. Hello, slow down.

I face the monster from time to time but this week, the
dreaded synopsis was the monster on page 172. In this submission, the synopsis had to come long before the final mss and I could get the task out of my mind. (Granted, I’m not on page 172 of
my mss which made tackling writing a synopsis even harder.)

It had to be done.

Writing by the seat of my pants isn’t my forte. I have to
know what is going to happen before I write it. I’m not a fan of the unknown.

Little by little, I’ve learned to kick the unknown out the
door. How did I do this? I just plugged away every day.
Brainstormed. Even resorted to Write or Die. My characters talked to each
other as fast as they could to avoid the red screen of terror.

Next stop: If I couldn't figure it out, I’d pass the synopsis through
my critique partners for their insight.

I guess what I’m saying is: If you’re stuck, there are
options. Even if that means walking away from the problem for a few hours or
even days. Yes, DAYS.